“The people’s flag is palest pink,” Attlee quipped. “It’s not red blood but only ink.” That slogan should be stamped on the back of the “What would Clem do?” T-shirts that have become fashionable among Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters.

To Emma, there seemed only two explanations possible: either the NHS had woefully undertreated her in the past, or my American colleagues had been wilfully overdoing it in order to maximise their income